At Pepcom’s holiday press event last week, I made a point of visiting a favorite of ours, Shapeways.,
which employs an intriguing technology (3D printing) to make a variety
of gift items, either user-designed or created by Shapeways or its
community. I took the opportunity to talk to Rian Gemei, the company’s
marketing communication manager, about 3D printing and the company’s
gift items.

The process is reminiscent of EMachineShop.com, from which you can download a CAD (computer-aided design) program to design parts that EMachineShop will make and ship to you. The difference, though, is that while EMachineshop machines the parts (bending, drilling, turning, milling, finishing, etc.), 3D printing services such as Shapeways and JuJups creates the objects from raw materials.

Shapeways lets you either create a custom design or work from one created either by the Shapeways staff or its community of users. The 3D printing process uses a device similar to an inkjet printer to apply a polymer (loaded into the machine in powder form) in layers, progressively building the object vertically with each pass. Shapeways has more recently offered 3D printing in metal as well.

As yet, 3D printing is only able to use a limited range of materials. It’s not quite the equivalent of the replicator from the Star Trek series, in which a crewmember could request some intergalactic delicacy and the machine would assemble it on the spot. But it’s a start.